The role of child-structured pretend play in second language socialization - 'Playing the books'

Abstract

Traditionally enculturation is viewed as a process in which novices learn from more experienced (and mostly older) people in their surroundings. In this view, children are presented rather as an object of external influences.

Inspired by language socialization paradigm I will present children in segregated Romani settlement of Eastern Slovakia as social actors in a process of second language (L2) acquisition within their peer group. I will focus on regular communicative event called by children themselves te bavinel (pro) kňiški "to play the books", which is the idiomatic expression for a pretend play with school instruction as a main topic.

Keywords

• language socialization
• second langugage acquisition
• pretend play
• peer-group socialization